The Dog General, One of the Twelve Divine Generals 十二神将立像（戌神）じゅうにしんしょうりゅうぞう（じゅつしん）

Description

The Twelve Heavenly Generals are a group of deities charged with protecting Yakushi, a Buddha associated with healing. This statue depicts Jutsushin, the Dog General.
This statue was carved from the wood of a cypress tree, with color then applied to the entire surface. He wears armor and he carries an axe in his right hand. His waist shifts to the left and he holds his left arm above his eyebrow. This gives him the appearance of a guardsman searching for enemies. A sense of physical power and muscular tension is conveyed by the arms bent at the elbow and the right leg pointing outward. A closer look reveals a dog's face carved into the center of his swept-back hair. The body movements convey a sense of spatial depth. This, together with the realistic expressions and the sharp, refined shape, are characteristic features of statuary that emerged from the end of the 12th century, as epitomized by the works carved by Unkei, a famous Japanese sculptor. This statue seems to herald the start of a new era. The still-vivid colors provide a further highlight alongside the dynamic motion.
This was originally from a set of 12 Heavenly Generals. The other 11 statues are also still with us today. Like this example, they also wear depictions of creatures from the Chinese Zodiac on their heads. Tokyo National Museum is home to five of these statues. The number of generals corresponds to the 12 vows made by Yakushi Nyorai to save all sentient beings. Furthermore, it was customary in East Asia since ancient times to divide time or directions up into 12 units and then allocate a different animal to each one. The Chinese Zodiac is still familiar to many people today. The signs of the Chinese Zodiac were also assigned to the guardians of the Buddha Yakushi. In a sense, this symbolizes how the 12 generals continue to keep a close watch over all directions at all times.

This figure was worshipped at the Buddhist temple Jōruriji in Kyoto. He represents one of the Twelve Divine Generals, guardian gods who serve Yakushi, the Buddha of healing. Each general is associated with an animal of the Chinese zodiac, with this one bearing the image of a dog atop his head.